Heretofore, media receiving and display systems such as television and radio receivers have been linked to interactive information providers in only very limited ways. Some systems exist which permit the exchange of digital information with the viewer of a television program over or in combination with a television signal, but such systems have provided access to a single information source available from, for example, the broadcast or cable television operator. In such systems, the selection of information services has been entirely within the control of the broadcast or cable television operator. At the same time, some television and radio broadcasters have begun announcing an Internet address for viewer inquiries during the course of program transmission. Access to this Internet address requires the user to utilize his or her computer. No system yet exists which provides automated and direct user access to online information providers through an address embedded in a video or audio program signal.
The recent explosion in the usage of online information services through digital networks such as the Internet, Prodigy (R), America Online (R) and Compuserve (R), for example, indicate that the demand for access to readily available up-to-date or detailed information is increasing. The viewer of a video program, whether the program is received through broadcast, or cable means or from a pre-recorded medium, may often seek to discover more information which relates to a topic presented in the video program. Since television programs and recordings are of finite length, they do not contain all the related information which a consumer may wish, and the information contained therein may not be timely. Therefore, it would be desirable for there to be a system which automatically and directly provides access to an online information provider through an address which can be extracted from an audio or video program such as a television program, commercial or news story. With such system, several benefits would be obtained. For example, adults and children viewing an educational or historical video program could easily locate additional materials provided in text or still picture by the producers of the video program by accessing more information from the producers digitally through the online address. Consumers seeking more information about a specific advertised product could easily find such information by accessing the online address of an information provider designated by the advertiser. News program viewers seeking specific information from news stories or more detailed information could easily access such information through an online information provider designated by the producers of such program.
The online services access system could be used to provide still other benefits to consumers, business owners, and the government. For example, an automobile manufacturer could make information available directly to a consumer through an online address embedded in a video presentation so the consumer could reach its online site quickly to ask for more information, to request a test drive, or to purchase parts. Through such system, a grocery store could advertise and receive orders through its online site from customers for home delivery, or for other shopping needs. A catalog retailer could use such system to provide rapid access to consumers, after airing a commercial, to its catalog in online form and to enable orders to be placed readily through its online site. A record company could use such system to enable customers to order a recording while listening to a song or viewing a music video. Government agencies, e.g., the Internal Revenue Service, military recruiters, or health agencies, for example, could use such system to provide consumers with readily available information following the airing of public service announcements regarding regulations, programs, or public health concerns, e.g., cancer, AIDS, and heart disease. Educators and students could use such system to obtain more detailed or up-to-the-minute information from online bulletin boards and databases regarding topics presented in a video program, even though the program was recorded some time in the past.
Systems exist at present in which digitally encoded information is transmitted and received through a modified video signal of a conventional television transmission. For example, a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,789 wherein a digital information signal is transmitted during the vertical blanking interval of an analog broadcast television signal and decoded and displayed on the television screen in addition to the analog broadcast video signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,752 describes a system in which a retailer broadcasts information for reception upon a conventional television set regarding products available through a central location. The system includes a decoder for displaying the product information on the television screen, and also a token generator for producing tokens, at the user's option, to be redeemed when a product is purchased. The broadcast information includes data related to token redemption and value considerations available upon purchase of the product.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,278 describes a system in which coupon-related digital information is received from a transmitted television signal through a decoder. The decoder records the coupon-related data for later readout and redemption when a product is purchased.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,094 ("the '094 Patent") describes an interactive cable television system in which a subscriber tunes to a channel and requests connection to a remote location by either dialing a predetermined telephone number or accessing a cable television channel. When the system identifies the subscriber the television set displays the frame of video (and possibly accompanying audio information) describing products or services which may be viewed and purchased. The '094 Patent does not describe the extraction of encoded address information from the television signal, or a system enabling a television program viewer to access online information providers by establishing connection automatically through such extracted address.
Thus, systems exist which are capable of providing interactive user access through a broadcast or cable television signal. However, such systems are limited in the access they provide to information sources directly available through the unitary cable or broadcast provider. By contrast, the present invention facilitates direct automated user access to an unlimited number of online information providers through provider addresses which are embedded in the electronic signal which carries an video or audio program.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a system for extracting an address of an online information provider from an electronic signal which carries an video or audio program.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system which indicates to the program user (i.e., viewer or listener), after extracting an online information provider address, that more information is available.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an automated system which, upon receipt of a single user command, directly and automatically establishes a digital connection with an online information provider through an address extracted from an electronic signal which carries a video or audio program.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system which converts information signals received from an online information provider to a form capable of being displayed on a conventional reproducing system such as a television set.
These and other objects are provided by the media online services access system of the present invention.